5-3 Cavemen Take the Weekend Off

kmarksteiner0
13 hours ago
4 min read

Bits & Pieces by Don Eskins

The Carlsbad Cavemen, on a roll for the past three weeks, will be idle on the Class 6A prep football circuit this weekend, Friday and Saturday, October 17-18. For the Cavemen, the break couldn’t have come at a better time.

The week off will give them a few extra days to R&R, heal a few wounds, shore up on a few offensive and defensive areas of concern, and prepare for their next district opponent, which just happens to be the top-ranked Las Cruces Bulldawgs.

That clash will take place in the Cavern City on Friday, October 24. Kickoff time at the Ralph Bowyer Cavemen Football Stadium is set for 7 p.m.

As things stand, as of Friday, October 14, the Cavemen could be battling the Bulldawgs for a share of the District 3/6A lead.

Carlsbad will close out regular season play on October 31 against the sixth-ranked Hobbs Eagles in Hobbs.

Cudos to CHS Coaching Staff

No loss could have been more pivotal for the Cavemen this season than their 20-7 loss to Cibola. Hoping to down the Cougars to go up 3-1 on the year, the loss dropped them to 2-2 with the prospect of having to take on the then third-ranked Centennial Hawks.

But, as difficult a loss as it was, Cavemen head coach Cale Sanders said he had to tip his hat to the Cougars.

“On that night, Cibola played a heck of a game. They’re really a very good team, and it showed,” said Sanders. “As for us, well, we just didn’t play very well. A few positive things did come out of the loss, though. One thing was, although it wasn’t his best effort of the year, it served as the coming-out game for Marley Munoz under center.”

Having lost to Cibola, Carlsbad entered its game against the Hawks as heavy, heavy underdogs. But a funny thing happened; at what appeared to be the 11th hour of the Cavemen’s season, Carlsbad battled Centennial throughout the game before falling by just one point, 21-20, as time ran out on the clock.

“For us, against Centennial, our kids began to come together as a team,” said the CHS coach. “They began to get comfortable on both sides of the ball, bought into our schemes and their roles.”

Using their loss to Centennial as a rallying point, the CHS staff propelled their chargers to successive wins over Clovis, 41-28; Organ Mt., 35-7; and, most recently, the Alamogordo Tigers, 30-25.

The Cavemen, who had at times throughout the season found ways to lose games, were now finding ways to win them.

Having played their way back into the district race and playoff picture, the Cavemen appear to be moving in the right direction.

Now in his third year, Sanders’ program continues to show improvement. Under Sanders, CHS has posted marks of 2-8 and 4-6, and is currently 5-3.

Note: In the past 13 years, CHS has logged records of five or more wins only four times. In 2013-14, 6-5 under Ron Arrington, 2019-20, 5-6 under Gary Bradley, 2022-23, 5-6 under Oliver Soukup, and 2025-26, under Cale Sanders, currently 5-3.

Road to State

Currently, the Cavemen are ranked ninth in Class 6A football. Having won their past three games to go 5-3 on the year and 3-1 in conference, they’re definitely back in the discussion for a district title and a berth in the state playoffs.

But there are still some big games left, and it’s hard to believe that anybody in New Mexico will finish out regular-season play with a tougher schedule than Carlsbad.

Besides playing the top-ranked Las Cruces Bulldogs on October 24, CHS will take on the sixth-ranked Hobbs Eagles in their final game of the season in Hobbs.

No doubt, regardless of how CHS closes out the year against the Dawgs and Eagles, it could have a lot to do with whether or not they’ll get a bid to participate in the 2025 Big Dance.

But as CHS gets set to play out their final two games of the season, Sanders likes where his kids are sitting.

“Having posted five wins and some impressive numbers to go with them, we’ve put ourselves into the conversation for a berth in this year’s state tournament,” said Sanders. “It’s not certain, but we are in the picture.

“I think our situation for post-season play will allow our kids to play more freely, without a lot of stress,” he said. “No matter how our final two games come out, if we are competitive, I think we’ll have a good shot at making the playoffs. Should we win at least one of our next two, I’d like to think we’ll definitely be in.”

The following are District 3/6A standings, as of October 16, and the Class 6A top 10:

District 3/6A Standings

Team Yr. D3/6A

Las Cruces 7-0 3-0

Carlsbad 5-3 4-1

Hobbs 5-2 2-1

Centennial 5-2 2-1

Clovis 2-5 1-2

Alamo 4-4 1-3

Org. Mt. 2-6 0-6

By MaxPreps as of October 9

Class 6A Top 12